New Rules
by Bruceluce
Summary: Set in season 2. No spoilers. Explores Callian.
1. Chapter 1

The door to his study was ajar. He was stretched out on the couch, one arm over his eyes, a few papers scattered on his chest , a tumbler with a little scotch at hand's reach. They had had a rough day of work. She smiled and knocked softly on the door. He opened his eyes.

He smiled at her."Hey" He looked at his watch. Ten PM. "Doing extra hours?"

He collected the stray papers and sat up." You should learn to kick back sometimes"

She laughed a little "Right back at you." She walked in."You look exhausted. Why didn't you go home?"

"Oh well, you know… No one to go home to."

"There's no one here, either"

"You were here", he said, looking straight into her eyes.

She tried not to blush."Yes, and I'm going home now. And so should you."

There were a few seconds of awkward silence as neither of them knew what to say next.

Suddenly he stood up " I've got a better idea", he said. He grabbed hold of her hand and marched out of his study, pulling her with him.

"Where we going?" she asked laughing lightly.

"Out. Going to get drunk"

"I highly doubt that" He was still holding onto her hand, pulling her with him.

"Oh, trust me. Your car or mine?"


	2. Chapter 2

In a matter of minutes there were sitting down opposite each other at a table in one of his favorite places in DC, a pub tucked in a corner of Georgetown. The place wasn't very busy on account of it being a Monday night. She was having a glass of white wine and he had already downed half his pint of lager.

"You were really thirsty"

"Yup. Come on Foster, drink up, I don't intend on being the only one who's drunk."

"What's the rush?"

"None at all, darling." He shrugged.

He took another long pull from his pint. Following his example, she downed her glass of wine.

"That's my girl!" He waved to the barman. "Another lager and a Sex on the Beach, please"

"Cal!"

"What?" He asked innocently with a straight face." It's your favorite, don't deny it."

She blushed, not missing the double-meaning. He smirked, pleased with himself.

Their drinks arrived.

"So, how's life these days?" he asked her.

"Cal, we work together, you know all about my life."

"I don't, I don't. I bet you have some dark little secrets you've never told me", he added the last part in a low voice, pointing his finger at her and leaning in across the table towards her.

She smiled mysteriously.

"I knew it! Go on Foster, spill the beans!"

"I will do no such thing." She took another sip from her drink, and looked back at him, poker faced.

He sighed. "Just you wait a few more drinks."

"Is that a threat or a promise?" she asked, smiling cunningly.

Now it was his turn to blush. He had planned on pushing her buttons, but hadn't expected her to go along. They were silent for a while, until she decided to ask him a mundane question, just to get them on safe ground again.

"How's Emily? Haven't seen her at the office in a while."

Cal seemed relieved that she had changed the subject. "She's fine. Making me crazy, but fine."

"How is she making you crazy?"

"By being 14 and having boyfriends"

Gillian laughed. "Boyfriend. Emphasis on singular." She corrected him."And Rick is a nice boy."

"Emphasis on 'boy'."

She laughed. "Well, what do you expect. Girls and boys get together. It's nature."

"Em's not _a_ girl. She's my daughter."

She read his face "You feel threatened!"

"What, by Rick? That's preposterous!"

"It's not just Rick. You're afraid that one day your daughter will be swept away by another man."

Cal didn't answer. She could tell she had hit a sore spot and was sorry for it.

"You know you'll always be her father." She added softly, leaning in towards him, resting her hand on his. He looked up. She could see his defenses were down. She read something in his eyes, but wasn't sure what it was. And then it was gone, his defenses back up.

"Stop analyzing me. Let's get some shots." He waved to the barman and ordered four tequilas.

"Cal, you trying to get me drunk?" she giggled.

"Maybe" he answered darkly.

The shots arrived.

"Drink up!" he ordered.

They downed one shot. "And the other!"

"Cal, it tastes horrible" she objected in between coughs.

He smirked. "It's lovely! Go on, Foster." He emptied his shot glass and she did the same.

They bit into their lime wedges.

"Wooo hooo!" Gillian erupted.

Cal laughed. "Ahhh that's more like it!"

Gillian nodded. "Feels good. What a crap day."

"It was, wasn't it. I hate it when people behave like morons. I hate that we have to take cases of adultery. We're not PIs."

"No, but we have bills to pay."

"If you're going to start talking about bills again, I'm going to get you another tequila" he mocked-threatened her.

She laughed. "No, please. The stuff's lethal."

"That's the point. Liquid courage", he said playfully.

"What do you need courage for?" she asked not so genuinely. She had an inkling.

"Nothing", he said nonchalantly. Then, almost absent-mindedly, he moved his hand towards hers and took it in his. He looked at their intertwined fingers. She looked at him, wondering what was on his mind. When he looked back at her, she could see a small, almost sad smile on his face. They were here to have fun, they were going to have fun, she thought. She slid out of her seat, never letting go of his hand.

"Let's dance!" London Calling was playing. By then the pub had filled up a bit: clusters of people were standing at the bar and a few couples were dancing crazily to The Clash's hit.

He laughed, shaking his head. She always wanted to dance when she had had a drink. "There's no way we can dance to this song."

"Wanna bet?" she challenged him. She looked so cute and sexy.

"All right." He got up.

They promptly started dancing to the music. Dancing was a big word. Messing around was really what they were doing. Both of them laughing, he twirled her around to the music. They kept moving closer and away again, their bodies seemingly attracted to each other like magnets. At some point she mimed the words to the chorus, as if she were holding a microphone. He laughed earnestly, then pulled her towards her "You're on fire!"

"Yep!" she danced away.

The song ended and he pulled her towards the bar.

"I want to dance!" she objected.

"I just need a little something to ease me up".

"You should really learn to kick back sometimes" she said in the very words he had used against her earlier. He looked back at her with a smile.

The bartender strolled to them. Cal ordered two Scotch.

"There's no way I'm having a scotch. We're working tomorrow!"

"That's what so good about being your own boss. Trust me on this."

"Oh I trust you" she said seriously, a deeper meaning in her words.

"Yes?" he asked, inching closer to her.

"Yes" she murmured, her heartbeat suddenly racing.

He leaned in, a look of decidedness in his eyes. Suddenly they were oblivious to everything around them. Their eyes locked and he kissed her. It wasn't exactly the first time they kissed. Apart from the occasional peck on the cheek, there had been occasions when they had given in to the mutual attraction and kissed properly. It was something they had done once or twice in the past, at times when they were drunk and feeling lonely. It hadn't happened lately, as both of them knew that they were no longer playing. What they were dancing around was dangerous, and they had fought to keep a line between them. But tonight he felt like crossing that line. And it wasn't just the tequila talking.

It was a shy, tentative kiss and he pulled away before she even realized what was happening. He laughed at the puzzled look on her face.

"Weren't expecting that were you?" he reached for his glass and took a drink. The strong liquor sharpened and braced him. He was worried she didn't want him that way.

"I'm not sure where you're going", she said, suddenly sober.

"Me neither, luv." He shrugged. They were silent for a while. He drank some more.

"I'm not sure we should be going there" she heard herself say, the words leaping from her mouth before she knew it. Of course she wanted him to kiss her, she always did, she just wasn't sure how serious he was. She feared this was just the tequila talking in him. And she knew that she wanted more than that.

"Probably not", he agreed. "Doesn't mean I don't want to, though."

Their eyes locked once again. He smiled.

"Hey, we came here to have some fun. Drink up, Foster." From his using her last name she knew they were back in bantering mode. She took a gulp of a drink, made a face at how strong the stuff was and pulled him back to the dancing area, where a number of people were now dancing to _I kissed a boy_. He laughed at himself, a forty something man dancing with a beautiful woman to a Katy Perry song. If Emily could see him now!

They danced playfully, not caring how unprecedented their moves were, getting closer and closer with each song. On Bob Marley's _One love_ she went as far as wrapping her arms around his neck. He had smirked and pulled her closer. They danced the whole song as close as their bodies could be. He then left her to go to the bathroom and when he came back to find that a guy had taken advantage of his absence to get closer to her he had taken her hands possessively, effectively pushing the other guy away.

"Jealous?" she asked provocatively.

"Yeah" he answered gruffly. To her surprise, his face was open and honest.

"It's cute" she said, giving him a peck on the cheek. But he didn't let pull her away and kissed her fully on the mouth instead.

She kissed him back fiercely and suddenly everything got very blurry.

**************

Like it? Please review! I only post because I love reviews. More coming up if you're good ;)


	3. Chapter 3

Two tequila shots and a few more songs later they stumbled out of the bar and into a cab, both of them really quite tipsy. She gave the driver her address.

They talked and laughed all the way to her house. It was amazing how flowing and easy the conversation between them was. It always was, but even more so when they had been drinking, –although she suspected neither of them were nearly quite as drunk as to not knowing perfectly well what was going on. Sometimes they didn't even need to talk: reading the other's face from the other side of the cab was enough to get an answer to whatever they were talking about. At one point she said something which made him roar with laughter and he pulled her towards him, placing a kiss on the crown of her head as she snuggled against him.

She listened to the way his voice sounded when she was pressed against him.

He felt the ripple of her giggles electrify his whole body.

They reached her place in what seemed a minute to them and she wondered if he would get off with her or ask the driver to get him to his own house. He was wondering exactly the same thing. Finally, when the cab came to a halt, he got out, handed the driver a few bills and helped her into her coat.

They walked to her porch in silence, almost solemnly, afraid that saying anything would ruin the moment. They reached her door in seconds. She fiddled drunkenly with her key, both of them giggling, until it was open. They stepped inside. As soon as the door was shut, they were kissing passionately. Coats and scarves fell to the ground as they stumbled to the couch where she fell on top of him. They kept on kissing, urgently tugging at each other's clothes. And then suddenly, as in silent mutual agreement, they stopped. She pulled away slowly, her eyes never leaving his. He smiled knowingly and pushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear. She kissed his hand almost sadly and sat up straight, moving away from him.

"What's up, luv?"

"You know what's up" she answered rather distantly.

"That bloody line again", he sighed and sat up.

She didn't say anything. A moment passed and she looked at him. He was sitting looking at his hands, lost in thought. She reached up to tidy his mussed up hair. She broke the silence: "You know it wouldn't be right"

"You're sober again. Let's get you a drink" he got up.

"Cal, getting drunk and making out isn't going to get us anywhere."

"I don't want to talk about it" he said, walking towards her liquor cabinet.

"Well, we're going to have to at some point" she said, a trace of anger in her voice.

He didn't answer. He was having fun, he didn't want to spoil it by _talking_. He poured himself yet another glass of scotch instead.

"Cal" she called his attention back, her voice now tainted with a little exasperation.

"What, love?" he asked, apparently miles away from the thoughts currently on her mind.

"Ughhhh!" she got up suddenly, now fully exasperated, and went to the kitchen. She splashed a little water on her face and poured herself a long glass of water which she drank slowly. She could hear him rummaging through her CDs and soon Pink Floyd was playing. She stared out of the window, breathing deeply. She was mad at herself just as much as she was mad at him. She had known this going out together wasn't a good idea. She didn't know what she wanted from him, but if they slept together she was afraid their relationship would never be the same. She valued her friendship with Cal more than anything else and she couldn't help but think that theirs was such an ongoing relationship for the very reason that they had never slept together. What would happen if they did? What would happen _after_? Would it ruin their friendship? Would it change anything? Would they become _friends with benefits_? Or would they profess their love to each other and move in together? And what would happen at work? Wouldn't the situation get out of hand? Would she have to leave the Lightman Group? These questions had been torturing her for months now. She sighed and splashed more water on her face.

When she felt calm enough she went back to her living room, where _'Hey you'_ was playing softly. She found him stretched out on the couch, apparently passed out. He had a lot to drink, she thought with a smile. But he stretched his hand out to her, knowing exactly where she was without having opened his eyes. She reached for his hand and let him pull her towards him on the couch. She lay down next to him and he wrapped his arms around her.

"You're alright, love?" he asked in a soothing voice.

She smiled at how he really always knew exactly what was going on in her mind, even after having as many drinks as he had, and she nodded just enough for him to feel it.

"I'm just scared" she murmured.

"I know love, I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I'm just as guilty as you are."

"You sound as if we did something wrong."

"Well, we nearly did."

"Would sleeping with me be such a mistake?" he asked, and she thought she could hear a trace of hurt in his voice.

She looked up and he opened his eyes.

"It wouldn't be a mistake. And that's what makes it a mistake."

He laughed." I've had way too much to drink to understand female logic right now."

She laughed too. "You know what I mean."

"I think so", he nodded, stifling a yawn.

She went silent, lying back down against him. His breathing was evening out as he was slowly falling asleep.

"I'm going to bed. You want the spare bedroom?" she stroked his jaw line.

"Nah thanks, love. I'm comfy here." He opened his sleepy eyes. "Ninight." He raised his head to kiss her softly, his lips barely brushing hers. It sent a shiver down her spine and it took all her willpower for her to sit up on the edge of the couch."Night, Cal" she murmured back. She straightened the living room a bit and turned the lights off. By the time she left the room he was already snoring lightly. With a last melancholy look at him, she shook her head and padded to her bedroom.

***

Hehe I'm glad you seem to like it. I've got a few more chapters already written down, I just need to proofread them. I don't really know where this is going. It's a bit of a drabble really. I can promise fluff and bantering. And a little drama too. And Emily soon! I love writing as I imagine they would sound.

As always, reviews are bliss.


	4. Chapter 4

4

When she woke up her phone was beeping with a new incoming message from Cal. She opened it. It read "Got a cab back home. Head s killing me. See you at work in a couple o fhours. Love, Cal".

She smiled at the wonky spelling. She loved hung-over Cal. He had this grumpy way about him then. The text had been sent at 6h30. So he hadn't had much sleep. It was now 8 and she had to be at work for nine, although she suspected it would be at least another two hours before _he_ showed up. She got up, and, with a forlorn look at her bed, walked to the bathroom.

At 9.20 she sat at her desk with a cup of coffee, rifling through the day's chores in her notebook. Cal knocked on her door over an hour later. She signaled him in.

"Hey", she said chirpily.

"Ouch, too loud", he winced.

He sat in the chair across from her desk, closing his eyes against the bright sunlight which was flooding her office. He started rubbing his temples with the tip of his fingers and she got up to shut the blinds. He sighed in gratefulness. After a while, when the room had stopped swirling, he opened his eyes.

"You don't even look hung-over at all", he complained.

"I had a lot of water and an Advil before I went to the sleep. And then I had another one when I woke up", she laughed.

"Got some for me?"

She handed him a bottle of water and two Advils. He swallowed them and drank the whole of the water. Then he shut his eyes again and sat back.

"I'm glad we didn't sleep together Gill" he reflected, eyes still shut.

She was dumbfounded. She hadn't expected him to mention it. She herself had tried not to think about it. Partly because she couldn't help wishing they _had _slept together.

"It's all a bit blurry, but I remember everything. I'm grateful for your level head. We were drunk. And it _would_ have been a mistake. In a _non-mistake_ way."He smiled, acknowledging her own words, and she tried to smile back.

"Right, better get on with the day." He got up suddenly, and had to sit back down again for a few seconds. "Bloodrush", he let out in-between clenched teeth. He got up again, only this time very slowly and carefully."Oh boy, this is going to be a fun day!"

She smiled as he walked slowly towards the door. He _did_ look to be having a very hard time.

"Meeting, 11.30, conference room", he said on the threshold. She smiled: according to him, Mondays were bad enough without staff meetings, so they had their weekly gatherings on Tuesdays. She liked how he thought out of the box.

He waved at her and then he was gone, leaving her with a strange sadness. He had seemed truly glad that they had not done anything too serious last night. Now it was her time to wonder whether he thought sleeping with her would be a mistake. She needed to make a decision. What did she want from him: friendship, or…something more? The million dollar question, she thought. At that moment Torres knocked on her door.

"Wow, have you seen how hung-over Lightman is?" she chortled, walking in.

Gillian nodded, trying to smile back.

Torres was miles from guessing Cal and Gillian had been drinking together. And she couldn't have known judging just from Gillian's appearance. She looked just as prim and proper as always. Inside, however, Gillian felt quite low. But she didn't let anything show and let Torres tell her all about the latest outcomes in their current case.

At 11.30 both women went to the conference room for the meeting, where a very grumpy Lightman set out objectives for the week. He then lectured them on a number of subjects. Apparently some people didn't fill their bills properly, or plainly forgot to do so, which made it hard to know how much money the company made. He then reminded them quite curtly that they had to file the solved cases away in the filing cabinet when they were done. He also told Heidi to make a better job of screening potential clients. He hadn't hired all of them to attend to desperate housewives' turmoils, he said. He had a special word for Gillian then. "No matter what you say, I will not stoop down to it."

He addressed the whole of them again."If matters come to worse, I would rather cut pay rolls and fire a few of you. So now you know. You better do your job, and do it good. These are hard times." The assembly, not daring to say a single word, sat awkwardly through their boss's temper. Only Gillian knew what was going on. Hung-over Cal was always grumpy. And, to be honest, they _had_ had billing and filing issues. Still, she thought he was being cruel, venting out his headache on his staff and threatening them with unemployment. Finally, after half an hour of lecturing, Lightman let them go, not without a last warning to Loker about the stray ants from his ant farm in the media room. The whole staff filed out gloomily.

"Way to cheer the troops" she said once they were alone in the room.

"Yeah, well, I'm the boss, that's what bosses do." He snarled. "Some people tend to take it all as a joke."

She couldn't help but think there was something for her in his words. An awkward silence ensued.

"Want to go grab lunch?" he asked, his temper cooling.

"No, got work to do", she snapped, storming out, and smothering a sob she could feel coming, although she wasn't sure why.

She was out with Torres on a case all afternoon and didn't speak to him at all. She was anxious not to bump into him when they got back to the office. She was a little embarrassed at how she had stormed out on him earlier. She had thought about it a lot throughout the day and had come to the conclusion that she was hurt he was glad there was nothing between them. She took it as a rejection, and the pain she felt at that idea made her understand she really did want a relationship with him. So there she was, in love with her boss. Pathetic, she thought sourly, packing up her stuff and closing her office for the night.

****

you thought it was going to be easy, didn't you? :D i just thought i'd add a little drama.

still writing without a real plan, thanks for all the nice reviews


	5. Chapter 5

They met in the lobby the next day. Or rather he called up to her.

"Oi, Foster!"

She turned around and waited for him to walk up to her.

"You OK, love?" He was all smiles, apparently having forgotten everything about their little altercation the previous day. She loved how he never held a grudge against anyone. He was so endearingly forgiving. She smiled shyly, herself not forgetting how immature she thought she had been, and nodded.

"You sure? You seem…distant", he insisted.

They had walked on and were now reaching the door to his office. Evidently he wanted them to continue the conversation inside, where it would be more private. She, however, didn't feel like being alone with him. She was afraid she would either giggle stupidly at anything he said or start crying. And she was pretty sure none of these situations would be appropriate. He noticed how she had stopped on the threshold to his door and he looked at her questioningly. She averted his gaze, but still he tried to meet her eyes.

"I've got work to do", she finally said. "See you later?" she asked, finally looking up to him, a smile she knew he knew was fake plastered on her face.

He wanted to ask her what was going on. He nearly did. He wanted to pull her into his office and get her to pour her heart's content to him. But he had done that in the past with other women, had pried them open and read their faces and gestures, only to cause both of them pain. So he just nodded when she mentioned work to do, and he let her walk over to her office.

The coldness he saw she was fighting to maintain panicked him. Why was she doing this? Was it because he had kissed her? Did she now feel she had to give him the cold shoulder to make him understand she didn't think of him as potential date-material? He was disconcerted as to what was going on. He thought he had felt something between them, hell she had kissed him back and snuggled against him! Had he completely misread the signs?

He put the matter aside with a sigh and got on with his schedule instead. When he looked for her to go have lunch together a few hours later Loker told him she had already left. Later in the afternoon she called him to ask his advice on a case and, although she was friendly, he couldn't hear that little extra thing he usually heard in her voice when they were talking. He realized the thing he heard instead was pain. It explained the sadness in her eyes, the hesitant smiles. This changed everything for him and he spent the next hours wondering what he had done to hurt her.

Later that day, Loker, Torres, Cal and Gillian found themselves in the media room watching a tape from their new case. Loker and Torres could sense something was wrong between their bosses. Foster was quiet and didn't smile much. At first Lightman tried to bully her playfully to get her bantering like they always did but she just shrank away some more and he finally resorted to tip-toeing around her. Torres and Loker looked at each other questioningly, none of which eluded their seniors.

He caught her as they were packing up to leave. He got hold of her arm and turned her slowly around. He had planned on saying something but the words didn't come out. He just looked at her, hoping she could read his feelings on his face. She looked at his fingers on her arm as if they were burning her. He withdrew his hand hurriedly, hurt flashing across his face. For a moment she looked like she was on the verge of tears. He wanted nothing more but to wrap her in his arms, but he felt it wasn't the right thing to do and so he didn't. In a second she was walking away, leaving him looking after her, heartbroken.


	6. Chapter 6

That evening he decided to call her. He didn't want to let their relationship go sour, and if that was the path they were taking he at least wanted to know why.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Hey Gill." Silence. "Please tell me what's going on."

"Cal…" she sighed "I don't… Nothing."

"Stop lying to me. I miss you, Gill, I miss my best friend."

She winced. Best friends, that's all they were.

"What is it? Did I do something wrong?" he continued. "If it's about Monday night, I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

"You didn't do anything wrong Cal. It's me. I need to…" She trailed off. She meant to say she needed to take her distances with him, as being so close was really too dangerous. Too much was at stake: their friendship, her work… her heart.

He waited in silence, but when she didn't say anything more he suggested they met in a restaurant, a neutral place where they could talk things out reasonably.

"I don't want to lose you", he said earnestly.

"Me neither, Cal". Tears were welling up in her eyes.

"Please meet somewhere" he pleaded.

She wanted to see him. Needed to actually, like she needed oxygen. She was going to tell him how she felt. She couldn't block him out. She had tried, but it was just too painful.

They met outside one of their favorite restaurants and went in together, choosing a table in a quiet corner by the window. Neither of them knew how to start making conversation, so the first minute was awkwardly silent. But Cal, always the chatter-box, couldn't stand it.

"Come on Gill, tell me what's going on."

She smiled at how he never beat around the bush. Yet another thing she loved in him.

It was the first honest smile he had seen from her in over 24 hours and it did him a world of good. Relieved, he immediately took her hands in his, reclaiming their intimacy. There we go again, she thought.

She looked at their hands "_You _tell me what's going on", she said pointedly.

He looked down at their hands too, understanding instantly what she was getting at.

"I don't know", he admitted.

"That's what's killing me, Cal"

The waiter arrived. They asked for the first thing they could think of and returned to their conversation.

"But," he sat back, letting go of her hand, a puzzled look on his face. "What's changed? I mean, we've been like this for years."

"I'm tired of it, Cal"

"You're tired of me?"

"Not of you. Of this. This ambiguity, this uncertainty."

"So you want us to take a decision?"

She looked at him. What did he mean by that?

"I don't know. Whatever the decision, I feel there will be something lost."She looked away.

"Monday night", he recalled. "On the couch, back at yours. You said you were scared."

She nodded in confirmation.

He took her hand in his again. "What were you scared of, Gill?"

She looked him straight into the eyes. "A number of things, Cal"

"Tell me."

"I'm scared that if we do sleep together our friendship will be lost forever", she started. He let her go on "I'm afraid things will get awkward and I will have to leave the Group." She paused." I'm afraid you'll break my heart", she added finally, in a whisper.

"Break your heart?" he repeated for confirmation.

She nodded, tears welling up in her eyes again.

"Why are you crying, love?"

She shook her head, either to say she didn't know why she was crying or that it didn't matter why she was crying, he wasn't sure which.

"I don't want to be the one making you cry." He paused. "And that's partly what I meant when I said I was glad we hadn't slept together"

She looked up at him questioningly.

Their dishes arrived but they just pushed them aside and leaned in across the small table, huddling as close together as possible. She placed her hands in his and he held on to them.

He fumbled for words.

"I… I have feelings for you… that I've never felt before, for anyone else. I think that I understand what you mean when you say you are scared of losing this relationship. To be honest, I don't know what we have. It sort of feels like friendship, only much better, a relationship in which you trust the other completely. I admire you, I respect you, you're beautiful, you make me laugh… We've known each other for years and yet you never bore me!"

He paused, the silence telling her how much that last fact meant to him. "And so, sometimes I want to push things a little further. I'm just a man, at the end of the day. _Girls and boys get together_" She smiled, her tears drying up.

He picked up again: "And yet I sort of know that we have been able to create and maintain this amazing thing between us exactly because we have never slept together. That it would change everything if we did. And then one day you'd get tired of me, like women always get tired of my mind-reading habits, and we would have lost this beautiful thing."

Their eyes locked in silence."I would never get tired of you" she said finally, with a degree of honesty and certainty he had never seen before. "I love you, Cal."

He smiled shyly. "I love you too Gillian."

They leaned further. Their lips touched. It wasn't exactly a passionate kiss. More like a kiss between two best friends who happened to be in love with each other but can't really do anything about it. She drew her hands to both sides of his face, smiling. The tears trickled down her face again, but she laughed.

"This is messed up", she said, pulling away to take a look at him.

He was trying to smile. "It is", he nodded. He leaned in further towards her, claiming her lips. There were small kisses, merely a pressure of the lips, but it felt so good to both of them.

"What are we going to do?" he asked.

"I don't know", she shrugged, still laughing and crying at the same time. "What _can_ we do? I tried to move away from you but I couldn't even stand it for two days" she laughed." I honestly don't know what we can do. Maintain things as they are, I suppose. Until one day we do sleep together. Or we have a huge argument and fall out completely. But right now I want, I _need"_,she corrected, "to be around you."

"Please don't ever go Ice Queen on me again", he said seriously, bringing her hands to his lips."I thought I had lost you. I thought you were mad at me for trying to get into your pants" he laughed, finally lightening up.

"I think I was mad at myself for not letting you", she said cheekily.

He looked at her, speechless. "This is going to be tricky", he said when his speech abilities were back.

"What is?" she asked softly, her fingers now tracing the jaw line she had grown to love so much.

"Not sleeping together."

She placed a finger on his lips. "Don't mention it anymore. _Qué será, será_."

***

So chapter 5 was a bit dark. I hope I made it up to you with this one. Coming up: Emily!

PS: I love getting reviews!!


	7. Chapter 7

_Sorry about that, I wanted to post this chapter yesterday but it wouldn't let me. Anyway, here is Emily. Enjoy!_

*****

Emily was in his office. She had dropped by straight after school, eager to spend some time with her dad. He was sitting at his desk, reading something on his computer. She was now sprawled out on his couch, and had momentarily decided to give up reading _Sense and Sensibility_. It was making her want to play match-making instead.

"Dad?" she called out from the couch.

"Hmm?" he looked up.

"Why don't you ask Gillian to the movies with us tonight?"

"And why would I do that?" he focused back onto his computer.

"Because you want to."

He looked up again."I also want Monica Bellucci. But you don't ask me anything about _her_."

She sighed in exasperation. "Daaad. Don't deflect." She got up and walked to him, perching herself on his desk.

"Honestly, why don't you ask her along?"

"Em, we see each other all day long. Besides, tonight is about you and me spending some time together."

Emily ignored the second part. "You see each other all day long at _work_. You never go out together."

"That's not true. We had dinner last night." And we got ragingly drunk Monday night, he thought.

Emily's eyes widened and he knew he shouldn't have told her. "Really? You went out? What, to a restaurant? What happened?"

"It's none of your business, young girl. Anyway, nothing happened" he drew his attention back to the screen.

"You're lying! You are! Something _did_ happen! Did you sleep together?" she asked conspiringly.

Cal looked up, something like shock in his eyes.

"So no, you didn't sleep together" she said, her enthusiasm gone.

"Emily Lightman, stop this, I'm warning you."

"Oh yeah? What you're going to do?" She playfully stuck her tongue at him. He responded in kind. She giggled at how childish he could be and retreated to the couch. "I'll find out anyway", she said nonchalantly.

Cal damned the fact that his daughter had taken so much after him. And yet he loved her so very much for it.

"Read on and be quiet, you brat" he said playfully while Emily pretended to ignore him.

Half-an-hour later Gillian walked up with some papers she needed Cal to sign.

"Oh, hey Emily! What a surprise!"

Emily got up with a side look to her father, a look that seemed to say _just you watch_. Emily and Gillian hugged.

"It's been a long time, Gillian. How have you been?" Emily asked.

"Very well, thanks" Gillian walked over to Cal's desk and handed him the papers. She turned around to face Emily again. "And how have you been?" she asked her.

"Oh, grand." She paused, with a side-look to her father again. He got up from his chair, almost threateningly. "I was wondering whether you would like to join us to the movies tonight."

Gillian cast a glance at Cal, trying to assess the situation. The look he was shooting Emily was puzzling. Gillian was a little embarrassed and didn't know what to answer. Not that she really had time to come up with an answer. Cal walked over to the two women.

"Emily, _why_ are you meddling?" he said, trying to keep his voice calm but a certain anger making its way out.

Emily sat back on the couch. "What do you mean, dad? I just thought maybe Gillian would enjoy going to the movies" she said innocently. But she wasn't fooling her father.

"Stop that" he said darkly.

Gillian was starting to feel uncomfortable. "Hum, OK guys. I'm going to leave you two." She started to walk away. Cal reached out and stopped her.

"I'm sorry Gill, I don't know what's gotten into her tonight."

"Please dad, you know very well what's gotten into me" Emily said playfully. She now had both adults' full attention.

"Emily, this is none of your business. Stop behaving like a child"

Gillian kept looking from one Lightman to the other. She had no clue what they were on about.

"Oh, _I'm _behaving like a child?"

Cal shot another dark look at his daughter.

"Ok, what's going on here?" Gillian broke the tensed silent. "I think I kinda deserve an explanation."

"Emily is trying to mess with me" Cal explained.

"Mess with you? How is that messing with you? I just invited her to the movies because you didn't dare do it!"

"What makes you think I wanted her to come?"

Gillian was busy pretending she wasn't just a few feet away from him.

"Because you love her!" she yelled, the words escaping her mouth. "And she loves you" she added after a moment in a quieter voice, eyes cast down. She was suddenly aware that things had gotten a little out of hand.

Nothing changed in the adults' demeanor, they just seemed to tense up a little more.

"Wait a minute!" Emily's mind was buzzing like a Mac processing data."You knew! You guys aren't surprised or embarrassed, you already knew! You told each other!"

Gillian looked at Cal. He seemed to be seething with a bottled-up desire to strangle his daughter.

"That's enough now, Emily", she said. Because Gillian had intervened Emily understood she had crossed a line. But she was just as stubborn and dedicated to seeking out the truth as her father was: she just couldn't drop the subject. She was now doing the math."You go out on dates. You're in love with each other. And yet you clearly haven't had sex yet" Emily whirred off, more to herself than to anyone else. She really was puzzled as to how relationships worked out in the adult world.

Meanwhile, Gillian shot a horrified look at Cal.

Cal breathed in."We all need to calm down here, Ok? Emily, you aren't making anything easy."

He came to sit down beside her. Half a minute passed by in awkward silence."I'm sorry dad. I just want to understand. I want you to be happy." Adults were so puzzling, she felt so lost in their world, herself being in-between two ages, both mature and immature. She leaned into him and he saw tears in her eyes.

"I know sweetie" he said soothingly, all traces of his past anger gone. "I know. But you aren't helping."

He hugged her and looked over at Gillian. She clearly was embarrassed and didn't know what to do with herself right now. Should she go sit with them on the couch and try comfort Emily? Should she comfort Cal? Should she leave? Torn with indecision, she stayed rooted to the spot.

"Em, we're going now. Pack up your things, I'll meet you at the car."

Emily dried up her eyes, then father and daughter got up. Emily collected her things. Cal handed her his car keys. "I'll be down in a minute", he said calmly.

"Ok. Bye, Gillian." She went to hug her." I'm sorry" she whispered.

Gillian still wasn't sure what had just happened. She hugged the girl back. "It's OK", she said.

Then Emily was gone and Cal and Gillian were left alone in his office. Cal walked to his desk and gathered his things.

Gillian followed him. "Exactly _what_ just happened?" she asked, dumbfounded.

"That, my dear, was proof that mind-reading is a weapon of mass destruction" Cal answered cryptically.

"_What_?"

"Emily found out. And I guess she wants us together" he explained.

Gillian sat down in the seat across his desk, somewhat in shock. Things were suddenly taking up speed. Cal came to perch himself on his desk across from her.

"You alright, love?" he asked earnestly, an apology as to his daughter's behavior in his voice.

Gillian finally focused back. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm OK. You should go see Emily."

He nodded.

"At least now the cat's out of the bag, hey?" he said.

"I guess." Gillian got up and they both left his office.

"Do you want to come to the movies, then?"

"I think I'll pass on that one, thanks". They laughed.

"All right", Cal said. "I'd better get back to the little she-devil."

Gillian nodded. He leaned in and kissed her dangerously close to the lips.

"See you tomorrow" he whispered.

"See you", she managed to whisper back.

****

_So??? _

_What do you think? Did it live up to your expectations? :D_

_ Did it make you laugh?_ _I thought it was pretty funny but I was wondering whether I had managed to really get the humour across to you or if I was just biased :D I'm trying to improve my writing so please let me know._

_Tune in soon for more!  
_


	8. Chapter 8

Cal and Gillian met in the parking lot the next day.

"Hey" she smiled. "So how was the movies?"

She was curious to know how he had smoothed things over after Emily's little stunt in his office.

"Oh, we didn't go. We felt we had some things to talk about: went out for dinner instead."

Gillian nodded, waiting for him to go on.

"Teenage girls!" Cal shook his head in disbelief, not intending to say anything more on the matter. She understood his discretion and went on to talk about work-related business.

That noon they finally managed to have lunch together. They were sitting in her office with an array of Thai food when he asked if she had plans for the weekend.

"Um, not really."

He could sense she wasn't telling him the whole truth.

"I'm sort of eating out with a guy tonight."

"You're going on a date?" he asked in playful incredulity, hoping his jealousy wasn't too blatant.

"It's not a date" she explained, twirling her noodles around."He used to work with Alec. A long time ago. He apparently found out we had split and he's been wanting to meet up for a few weeks. I kept delaying it, but we're finally having dinner tonight. " She looked up at him.

"So, you're going on a date" he repeated, trying to understand what effect the news had on him.

"It's not a date!" she corrected yet again. "Just two friends meeting for a catch-up"

"Trust me. You're single and beautiful. He's a man. It's a date."

She couldn't battle with such logic. She was silent. She didn't think of John like that. But she was a little curious to know how Cal reacted to thinking she might do.

He had paused in his eating, obviously pondering the piece of news she had dropped on him.

"Well, you'll have to tell me how it went on" he said cheerfully, smothering down all his instincts. He knew he had no right to be jealous –she wasn't his–, and yet he felt a little hurt that she was going on a date so soon after their break-through of Wednesday night. His falsely cheerful tone didn't fool Gillian.

"Cal, it's not what you think, honestly. This was arranged weeks ago. I have no intention to take it anywhere. You've got to trust me..."

"What if you did, Gill. I mean, we're not an item, you can go out with him if you want" he interrupted her rather testily.

They were getting on to something there, both of them thought. They had admitted to caring about each other. They had decided not to do anything about it for the time being, lest it should change their relationship. But what did that mean, technically? Were dates authorized? Cal realized how stupid and immature he was being, snapping at her like that.

"Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…" he paused. "It's just… well, it's a little weird. This whole thing is weird. I thought we were making progress here, I…" he trailed off, lost for words.

She got up and walked to him. "We are Cal… I shouldn't have told you."

"On the contrary, I'm glad you told me" he valued honesty more than anything else, especially in matters where the heart was concerned.

"I shouldn't have told you because really it's meaningless. It's just something to do on a Friday night. Free dinner beats sitting with a book in my empty cardbox-ridden apartment."

He looked up and smiled.

"Ok. I'm sorry. My reaction was uncalled for. I have no rights on you, anyway"

"You kind of do, though" she winked, going back to her seat.

They resumed eating. There were so many things to say. They chose to drop the subject entirely.

"Anyway, that's all I've got planned for the weekend. What about you?" she asked.

"Well, Em's with her mum. But I have to go pick her up at a party tonight. So I'll be staying up a little, not long, curfew is at midnight…" he smiled, enjoying the part of the over-protective father. "And then tomorrow morning I think I'll come here and get some paperwork done" Gillian opened her eyes wide. He laughed "Yeah, I've got to sort out that billing issue."

"Want some help?" she asked, placing a dumpling in her mouth.

"I think I'll be fine. I mean, take some rest."

"I was thinking of coming in anyway", she shrugged. "Unless I go swimming. Been dying to for ages."

"Go swimming, love. Take some time for yourself. I'll be fine, honestly."

She smiled. He could be so full of consideration.

"Oh and Saturday afternoon is Emily's badminton tournament, here in DC, so I'll be cheering for her", he added.

"Oh, nice! I hope she does great."

They talked a little more until the food was all gone. Then Cal left and both of them got on with their day.

They met up again in the early evening, as Gillian was leaving.

She knocked on the door to his office and walked in. He looked up in surprise.

"Oh, you're still here? I thought you'd gone on your date" he insisted playfully on that last word.

She gave him a friendly scolding look. "Late dinner" she explained." I'm going now. You're staying here?"

"Yeah, I figured I'd do the bills now, go pick up Em from here and get a sleep-in tomorrow."

She nodded. "Sounds like a plan". She fidgeted, reluctant to leave.

He could sense it and decided to mess around with her just a little.

"So, what happens if that …" He paused for her to insert the guy's name. "John" she said. He grimaced purposely. "What happens if he leans in to kiss you?"

She blushed, but pretended not to be in the least taken aback by his question.

"Not going to happen" she fired back.

"Let's say it does, shall we? What would happen?"

"Well" she was blushing now. What answer did he expect? "I…I guess I would lean away" she lied.

"Come on, you can't do that! It's rude."

"I'd kiss him back" she said, exasperated. "Of course I would."

"Ah-ah!" he pointed his finger at her.

"But it wouldn't mean anything! I'd let him know I'm not interested, which he would know anyway, which is why he would never try to kiss me, which is why this conversation is absurd."

"It's absurd all right, but that's not the reason."

"No, the reason is that we are highly inhibited creatures unable to give in to what we know we really want!" She raised her hand in exasperation.

"Amen to that" he said solemnly.

They looked at each other and laughed, wishing she didn't have to leave.

"Right, I'm off" she said after a moment. " ' Night Cal. Have a good weekend."

"You too Gill, take care" he said seriously.

She turned around with a wave and was gone.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's note**: Hello there! Glad you seem to enjoy it. So, about John, sorry, but he was written as good looking some time ago. Plus I don't write slash. I guess I'm more interested in psychology and realism. But read on, it's not too bad (I think).

***

Gillian and John met in a swanky new restaurant specialized in Spanish cuisine. She had to admit John was eye candy: late 40's, tall and athletic, with short brown hair and dark blue eyes, and even a cleft chin. He got up from his chair when she arrived and they had a quick chit chat before looking at the menu. She settled on the sea food paella immediately and turned her attention back to him. They talked quietly for a while. John was interesting and funny. He had graduated in economy from Brown and currently worked as an insurance consultant. And, judging by his finely cut suit, he made good money from it. After 15 minutes Gillian got an idea and excused herself to the maitre d' 's desk. She asked him if they did deliveries. When she got a positive answer she ordered sea food paella and a bottle of red wine to be sent to the Group. She knew Cal's stomach would be starting to growl about now. She paid for the delivery and returned to the table, where she answered John's questioning looks by simply saying that one of her colleagues was stuck at work.

"Tell me about you work" John asked with a genuine interest."I hear that Lightman is quite a character"

"He is." Gillian smiled. She then went on to tell him a little about how Cal and her had met and how he had basically theorized the concept of micro-expressions, and what their work was about. John couldn't help notice how her eyes sparked when she talked about him.

John was fascinated by Gillian's account of how much emotions can be read on our faces and he was desperate to learn. She gave him a few tips. They then had a fun time trying to decipher the other customers' faces, making up extravagant stories about their lives. Later on he asked her a lot of questions about her, without ever being too intrusive. And he was a good listener. They even shared tales of failed attempts at married life. Te told her about his ten year old son Michael but she didn't mention Sophie, the subject too personal.

She was having a nice time, but by the time they had finished their main dishes she missed a special someone's quick mind. She missed the constant bantering, the speed of their exchanges, which always made her think of a game of table tennis. Or badminton. Now she was thinking of Emily –she realized she wasn't listening to John anymore. And she could tell he had noticed.

"I'm sorry" she said."I always have a hard time switching off. You were saying something about Michael's passion for baseball?" she gave him her best smile, efficiently dazzling him back to the conversation.

Gillian willed herself to listen to John and she succeeded. It was midnight, their puddings long gone, when John noticed how tired she looked.

"I'm sorry, I'm boring you"

"No, no, you're not. I'm tired" she explained with a smile.

"Let's go."

He cleared the check and they left the table. Outside on the pavement, he asked whether there was any point in his asking for her second date. He had clearly sensed she wasn't very interested in him. She smiled at how he wasn't aggressive about it, just a little disappointed. He deserved an honest answer.

"I'm sorry, John. I kind of have someone on my mind. But it's a bit complicated, so…" she let the sentence hung in the air.

"It's okay, I understand. Lightman's a lucky man, though" he said, looking sideways at her. She smiled in surprise, unable to hide her blushing. John nodded silently, his hunch confirmed.

"You're good at this" she said, alluding to how he had read her feelings for Cal.

He laughed a little, shaking his head "Oh, that was an easy one!"

Gillian thought she could have been very happy with such a smart and understanding man as a companion. She pushed herself on tiptoes and kissed John on the cheek.

"I had a lovely time, I really did. I wish you all the best, John"

"You too, Gillian. Take care. Make sure to give me a call if ever things don't turn out as planned with him."

She nodded, privately wishing Cal and her had a plan, then waved goodbye and started walking towards her car, he himself setting off in the opposite direction.

On the way home Gillian was busy analyzing the events of the evening. In the three hours they had spent together, there had been nothing which she had deemed off-putting about John. Quite the contrary. They had had a quiet, mature and entertaining conversation and he was perfect in many ways. Yet there hadn't been that little extra, that little spark. If ever she needed something to confirm she was in love with Cal, not being interested in John was exactly that.


	10. Chapter 10

Hi! Sorry for the delay, I seem to be lacking inspiration. This chapter is short, but…Read on! :D

***

She got a text message from Cal just as she was slipping under the covers. He was thanking her for the paella, which he called a lifesaver, and telling how he had taken Emily back to Zoe's and was now going to bed. She started texting him back but then changed her mind and called him instead.

"Hello there" he greeted her.

"Hey"

"So, how was your date?"

She laughed, liking that he never beat around the bush. "I was wondering how long it would be before you asked."

"You know you're only calling to tell me about it."

"I'm not" she defended, only partly lying.

"You are. So, how did it go?"

She let out a sigh: "It was nice"

"Nice? Is that good or bad?"

"Good"

"But?"

She laughed again, a little nervously this time.

"What?" he asked urgently, and she thought she could hear worry in his voice.

"Nothing. I mean it, it was nice. The food was wonderful and he's a great guy. We talked and it was _nice_" she finished, knowing how little convincing she sounded.

" _Great guy_ huh?"

"Oh yes" she gushed. That part was true. "Very handsome. And actually quite funny, for an insurance broker. And he picked up on a number of things. _Very _smart."

"Sounds like he could be the next Mister Foster" he said darkly, not bothering to cover up his jealousy anymore.

"In a perfect world, he'd be perfect" she sighed, not picking up on his somber tone, thinking that in a _really_ perfect world, her and Cal would be in the same bed right now.

At this, Cal was filled with a new hope. "What's wrong with him?" He hoped she was going to tell him about a nasty habit of his, something which would definitely write him off.

"There's _nothing_ wrong with him." Gillian said simply.

"So, he's _too_ perfect?" he asked.

She didn't answer.

" Or is it that he's not me?" he asked again." Which would mean that _I'm_ not perfect" he realized.

She laughed. "Good night Cal" she said sleepily.

"Oi, you haven't answered me!"

"No, I thought I'd let you work that one out."

"Well, which is it?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes, it does! It's kind of the heart of the matter!"

"Don't I know it" she sighed.

Silence settled as Cal was thinking and Gillian was slowly starting to fall asleep.

"You know I'm going to ask you to marry me one day, right?" he asked, seemingly out of the blue for her, but in keeping with his own thoughts.

Needless to say, his words jolted Gillian awake. Her heart skipped a few beats, but she managed to keep her voice under control and breezily asked "Yes?"

"Yes. And we'll buy a house, probably in the Hampshires– if we don't go broke before that–, and we'll grow old together."

Gillian's heart was now racing, the perfect picture forming in her mind. Thankful for her abilities to hide her emotions, she put on that breezy tone again and asked: "So when's that going to happen?"

"I see. A little impatient are we, Doctor Foster?" he answered full of humor, trying to deflect the crucial question.

"I'm just trying to find out how many Johns I'm going to have to go through before you make up your mind."

"Don't rush me, woman!" He paused. "Besides, what do you mean by "_go through_"?" he asked shrewdly.

"Cal! You can't expect me to wait for you. We only get one chance at happiness, and I don't want to let my life fly by waiting for it."

He didn't say anything.

"Ugh! This is getting old. Good night Cal." She sighed.

A few seconds went by before he answered "Good night, Gillian."

They hung up.


End file.
